Dale Kirby is the Member of the House of Assembly for the district of St. John's North

Monday, January 13, 2014

MHA seeking reversal of funding cut from disabilities group

For Immediate Release

January 13, 2014

MHA seeking reversal
of funding cut from disabilities group

St. John’s—St. John’s North
MHA Dale Kirby is collecting signatures on a petition asking the Minister
Responsible for the Status of Persons with Disabilities to reverse last year's
$15,000 cut in funding to the Coalition of Persons with Disabilities (COD-NL).

The petition, to be presented in the House of Assembly, asks
government to initiate a long-term operational funding arrangement in
collaboration with the arms-length advocacy organization for persons with
disabilities in Newfoundland and Labrador.

“Last year, funding cuts made by the Dunderdale and Harper
Conservatives put the Coalition of Persons with Disabilities in danger of shutting
down,” Kirby says. “We are fortunate that this did not happen last year thanks
to community support, but the issue of funding cuts and the resulting threat to
the future work of COD-NL remains.”

With the further federal funding cuts slated for 2014 and 2015,
Kirby says the Coalition needs a sustainable level of year-to-year provincial
funding to continue serving people with disabilities, promoting their rights,
and raising awareness at the local and provincial levels.

“During the recent power crisis, COD-NL once again displayed
the essential role of their advocacy for people with disabilities and the
province as a whole,” says Kirby. “When decision-makers were overlooking the impact
of power outages on persons with disabilities, COD-NL was speaking up about the
need to remember some of the province’s most vulnerable.”

Kirby says the provincial government cannot continue to turn
its back on COD-NL. “This is an essential organization that gives voice to some
of the most at-risk people in our province. If anything, long-term sustainable
funding for COD-NL should be a key building block in government’s provincial
strategy for the inclusion of persons with disabilities.”